31 short films from across Africa and the diaspora will screen at The FAME Shorts Film Festival, set to return to Cape Town this September. The 2025 edition will take place from September 4 to 6 at the Labia Theatre, with a lineup of films that explore themes such as identity, family, fear, and resilience.
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This year’s festival is built around four major themes: Here for the Underdog!, Night Terrors, In Family We Trust, and Tender Riot. Each category groups together stories with a common thread, from the struggles of ordinary people to the power of family bonds, personal fears, and expressions of love and identity.
According to Lerato Bokako, the festival’s creative director, this year’s event will highlight a wide range of genres and voices, adding that it is “an opportunity for discovery of new up and coming artists from Africa and the diaspora.”
The festival opens to the public in the evenings over the three-day period, and the celebrations begin with an Awards Night on the 3rd of September. Tickets are now available through Quicket.
The short films being screened this year are diverse in both story and style. See the categories and films below
Here for the Underdog!
This category tells stories about individuals who push back against challenging circumstances. This section explores topics like street life in Khayelitsha, poaching, migration, and the quiet strength of everyday people. Short films in this section include:
Being You (South Africa)
Director: Minenhle Luthuli
Drama
A filmmaker meets her 16-year-old self after a suicide attempt and tries to change a traumatic past without erasing who she’s become.
Counterpunch (Kenya)
Director: Rodney Williams
An animated drama about a retired boxing champion forced to fight again to save her family’s future.
Her Khaltsha (South Africa)
Director: Robyn Philips
A documentary about the first all-girls cycling team in Khayelitsha These young women use cycling to break stereotypes, take back their streets, and inspire others. For them, cycling isn’t just a sport, it’s about freedom, confidence, and building community.
Rearview (South Africa)
Director: Chris Djuma
On the Kivu Massacre anniversary, all Didier wants is a quiet day. But when a mute seven-year-old boy jumps into his car to escape a kidnapping, gunshots follow and Didier is thrown into a dangerous chase he can’t control.
Blue Heart (South Africa)
Director: Samuel Suffren
Marianne and Pétion live in Haiti and are nervously waiting for a phone call from their son in the United States. As time goes by without hearing from him, their worry grows, and they start to feel unsure about everything. Their own lives begin to feel unstable, and the hope they had in the American dream starts to disappear, leaving them stuck between hope and harsh reality.
King George (South Africa)
Director: Ari Kruger
A strip club owner faces a tough battle when a powerful property developer tries to shut down his club. Up against the odds, he fights back using his smarts, determination, and over-the-top charm.
The Last Ranger (South Africa)
Director: Cindy Lee
When young Litha is shown the magic of a game reserve by the last ranger left, their adventure turns dangerous after a poacher attack. As they struggle to save the rhinos, Litha discovers a shocking secret that changes everything she thought she knew.
Ya Hanouni (France)
Directors: Sofian Chouaib & Lyna Tadount
A playful drama about parents competing to hear their baby say their name.
Night Terrors
In Night Terrors, stories take a darker turn, filled with ghosts, grief, and mystery. Titles in this category wrap body horror, twisted desire, and personal trauma in different ways. Short films listed in this category are:
Belinda (South Africa)
Director: Isaac Kasende
Ophelia, Gary, and Mandla work at the crumbling Hotel Afreeca, each weighed down by money troubles. One night, they discover a long-locked room hiding a strange machine that spits out cash. But there’s a terrifying catch: to keep the money coming, the machine must be fed a fresh corpse every hour. As their need for cash grows, the three are pulled into a dark, deadly cycle where greed and survival clash and there’s no way out that doesn’t come at a cost.
Ecstatic Exit (South Africa)
Director: Hallie Haller
Sci-fi dance film about two interplanetary travellers reconnecting across dimensions while hunted.
Mrs Willow (Zimbabwe)
Director: Tanaka Chiriga
Looking to get away from the noise and stress of city life, Benny heads to the quiet, green mountains of Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. He hopes to find peace but instead, he comes face to face with Mrs. Willow, a ghostly presence tied to eerie local tales. What starts as a personal retreat soon becomes a chilling brush with the supernatural.
Wormwood (South Africa)
Director: Cameron Hadlow
On the night before her sister’s wedding, Astrid misses her flight and drives alone, still mourning the loss of her partner, Dino. After a mysterious radio message causes a crash, she wakes in a surreal space between life and death—where Dino’s ghost has been waiting. As time warps and emotions rise, Astrid must choose between holding on to the past or returning to the world she left behind.
Awake (South Africa)
Director: Jono Hall
A married couple, quietly drifting apart, is forced to face the growing rift between them when they realize history might be repeating itself, in a strange and unexpected way.
Jimbi (Uganda)
Director: Tusabe Ivan
A shy man ignores a sexual assault he sees, but soon he gets a strange, quickly spreading rash. As the rash takes over his body, he starts changing into a mythical creature called the Jimbi. This forces him to face what happens when you stay silent and do nothing.
Why The Cattle Waits
Director: Phumi Morare
Nomvula, a goddess, comes down to Earth to find her lost human love, Thandiwe. She hides by changing into animals to stay safe. When she finally finds him, she learns he has moved on. Sad but determined, she asks him to come back with her to her world forever. But when he refuses, her sadness turns into anger, putting the whole world in danger.
Mango (United Kingdom)
Director: Joan lyiola
Zadie is a strong, independent florist quietly struggling with fibroids. When a dream job opportunity comes her way, she tries to find help to manage her changing body, but the unwanted growth keeps getting worse, threatening her chance to succeed.
In Family We Trust
This segment looks at the complexity of family—how we relate to one another, what we inherit, and what we’re willing to let go of.
B(L)ind The Sacrifice (South Africa)
Director: Nakhane
A nomadic family, led by the strict rule of The Father, performs a yearly blood sacrifice on a sacred mountain. But when this year’s ritual goes wrong, it sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever.
Discarded (South Africa)
Director: Sheona Mitchley
Mhlupheki Alfred Nhlapo, a spirited street recycler, faces the harsh streets of Johannesburg, balancing survival, identity, and family. His journey reveals the uncertainty of life and the quiet strength it takes to endure.
Jelly (United States)
Director: Anndi Jinelle Liggett
A curious young Black girl in Brooklyn looks into a neighbor’s sudden disappearance, only to face a deeper, more personal loss.
V’s Secret (Egypt)
Director: Bassma Farah Nancy
When Adam accidentally drops his wife’s G-string onto his neighbor Bassem’s balcony, he can’t get it back and starts to believe Bassem took it. Fueled by pride and suspicion, Adam lets things spiral out of control, no matter the cost.
Float (Kenya)
Director: Lydia Matata
Fourteen-year-old swimmer Wendo feels unsure about her changing body. Teased by her brother and criticized by her coach, her confidence drops. But when she meets Mariam, a gym cleaner learning to swim, their late-night lessons help them both find new strength and confidence.
Gifts From Babylon (Gambia)
Director: Bas Ackermann
A short film about Modou, a Gambian man sent back home after living undocumented in Europe for five years. Haunted by memories of his difficult journey, he struggles to adjust and face the changes in his life and himself.
Pal (South Africa)
Director: Isaac Kannigan
An animated short film about the connection between a dog and his human.
Punter (South Africa)
Director: Jason Adam Maselle
Young Brett’s plan to surprise his dad for his birthday is ruined when his dad takes him to a Johannesburg betting bar instead. Brett soon realizes his dad has a secret scheme and asks him to place a bet. Trying to save the surprise, Brett gets caught in his dad’s debts and shady deals, seeing a side of his father he never knew.
Tender Riot
More on the softer side, this group focuses on stories where love, softness, and vulnerability are forms of strength. These include queer love stories, reflections on immigrant motherhood, and tributes to lives lost. They include:
Blind Spots (South Africa)
Director: Miselwa “Missy” Ngamlana
Blind Spots tells the story of Nandi, a graphic designer searching for direction, and Sinethemba, a carefree woman hiding emotional scars. As their relationship grows, they begin to uncover buried insecurities and truths.
The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí (Nigeria)
Director: Abbesi Akhamie
In the retro-futuristic African nation of Alkebulan, brilliant but overlooked Dr. Constance Moumie is shocked to learn her fiancé, Sèyí, is also engaged to Princess Ada. With her life turned upside down, she and her clever friend Bibiana plan to expose him at his engagement party, sparking Constance’s unexpected rise to the spotlight she’s always deserved.
New York Day Women (United States)
Director: Fredgy Noël
A Haitian-American woman secretly follows her immigrant mother through New York City and discovers her quiet strength and resilience. What starts as curiosity turns into a touching look at love, identity, and the deep, unspoken bond between generations.
Rainbow Girls (South Africa)
Directors: Velisa Jara, Julia Gunther
A decade after the 2012 Miss Lesbian pageant in Khayelitsha, a group of South African lesbian women come together again to reflect on their lives. Led by photographer Julia Gunther and former contestant Vee Jara, the reunion sparks open conversations about how far they’ve come, and how much remains the same.
The Passage (South Africa)
Director: Ntokozo Mlaba
When Mrembula learns Dakalo has accused him of rape, he blackmails his best friend Bafana, who’s also Dakalo’s boyfriend, into backing a lie. Afraid of being dragged into the case and losing his chance to escape the township, Bafana gives in. Together, they rewrite the truth about what really happened that night.
Onthou Vi Freda? (South Africa)
Director: Cleveland Hopp
In the early hours of 29 June 2023, Alfredo, a beloved drag artist and queer icon, was found dead near his home in Malmesbury, South Africa. With his case still unsolved, Onthou vi Fredo? uses old footage, memories, and performances to honour his life and call for justice, making sure he’s never forgotten.
Pavilhão (Brazil)
Director: Victoria Fiore
Set in Rio de Janeiro, Aleksia follows a young woman who travels through time to discover the roots of samba. Through music and dance, she uncovers how her Afro-Brazilian community used samba as a symbol of joy, strength, and resistance, a lasting expression of identity.
The FAME Week Shorts Film Festival 2025 will take place from September 4 to 6 at The Labia Theatre in Cape Town.
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